When All Hope Fades
by Aradia Chase
Summary: Another survivor reflects on her life before the crash and finally learns to bond with other survivors.


**Story Title**: When all hope fades 

**Author**: "Me, der, if it wasn't mine, I wouldn't be posting it." - Aradia aka Jen

**Rating**: PG-13 to R (for language, violence, and sexuality later on)

**Plot** **Summary**: Another survivor reflects on her life before the crash and finally learns to bond with other survivors.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of these characters, I'm just using them for entertainment purposes.

**Author's** **Notes**: Story takes place after "Confidence Man" and the main character's name ("Aradia" and nickname "Rae") are pronounced "Uh-Ray-Dee-Uh" and "Ray", just in case you're wondering.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her eyes flutter open and quickly adjust to the bright morning sun. From the spot she had claimed as hers to sleep on, she was able to lay and stare out at the ocean. For someone on vacation, the view is heaven; for her, it was hell. Slowly, she pushes herself up off the dark blue Oceanic blanket, which had molded itself to the lumps of the compacted sand below it, making for a terrible night's sleep. She sits with her legs crossed in front of her, indian-style, watching as people walk around, keeping themselves busy, talking to others, anything to keep their mind off the crash and what they'd left behind. Aradia had given up on that days ago. She pulls the boarding pass out of her back pocket and stares at it. In her mind, she can hear her own excited squealing from the day the ticket first arrived at her doorstep. Sighing, she folds it up and places it back in her pocket.

The crash itself seemed to have happened ages ago, and yet Aradia still hadn't talked to anyone on the island. An occasional "hey" or "let me help carry that" sure, but she didn't know anyone's names or hadn't had any deep talks with anyone. By her own volition, she had kept to herself, speaking to others only when necessary. In her mind, why should she get attached to people she's never going to see again after the rescue boats arrive? But as each day passes, and with no boats on the horizon, her hope slips away. A twenty-something man walks over and hands her a bottled water, for which she was extremely grateful. With an english accent, he wishes her a cheery good morning before walking on to hand out more water.

After taking several gulps of water, she stands up and stretches as she scans the beach. She catches sight of "the doctor". She didn't know his name, but something about his demeanor kept her eyes fixed on him every time he was around. A few days ago, she had overheard a few people mentioning the caves, and how he had decided to move some of the survivors there. At the time, it had seemed a stupid idea, moving further inland where rescuers wouldn't have a chance of seeing them, but now... Now it was different. Everything seemed to have changed overnight. All of her hope, that had her checking the horizon every few minutes, had vanished. And the caves were sounding better and better. As The Doctor grabbed some things, she realized he was heading back into the jungle, and back towards the caves. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the blanket and a bag of clothes, and raced across the beach after him.

She didn't catch up to him until he was inside the jungle. The dense foliage provided instant relief from the relentless sun she had endured lately and a chill ran down her spine as she shouted to him, "Excuse me!" He turned around quickly, possibly a little surprised at the sound, and a small smile played across his face.

"Yeah?"

She hadn't really thought of what to say to him and was flustered at her lack of words. "Um.. you're the one who moved people to the caves, right?"

He took a couple steps towards her and nods. "Yeah, I did. I fig--"

"I want to go." She never meant to cut him off, but she had, and he looked at her blankly for a few seconds after she said it, almost as if looking for an explanation. Chuckling softly and looking to the ground, she quietly mutters, "I guess I realized we're not getting rescued." A beat passes before she looks back up into his eyes. "Are we?"

Solemly, he shakes his head no. Changing the subject, he smiles and extends a hand. "I'm Jack."

Shaking his hand, she smiles warmly back, "I'm Aradia. But you can call me Rae."

Still holding onto her hand, he nods several times. "Rae." Inhaling deeply, he lets go of her hand. "Well, let's press on. I'll lead the way."


End file.
